Here’s what’s out there in the perch world:
Wood: Plain pine perches come standard with nearly every cage, and there’s nothing wrong with them, except you can do better for your bird. One way is to harvest your own wood for perches (see the sidebar “Perches au naturel”); another is to vary the sizes and shapes of the perches you buy. Some ready-made dowels are available in different diameters along the length of the perch, and these at least add some variation on the boring old theme. If you don’t want to or can’t find tree branches like the one shown in Figure 4-2, a good bird store probably offers a supply of these perch prospects, too.
Rope: Great foot feel! Rope perches give your bird something decent to hold on to and double as good playthings. The neat thing about rope perches is that you can just throw them in the washing machine or dishwasher when they get dirty. The downside to rope is the possibility of your bird catching a toe in a worn and frayed part of the perch. Also, your bird may chew and swallow strands of the rope, which can cause problems as well. Watch closely and discard the perch when the rope gets stringy.Photograph courtesy of Claudia Hunka, Your Basic Bird (Berkeley, California)FIGURE 4-2: This finch is enjoying his natural perch. Rope perches can be expensive if you buy them ready-made for use with birds. You don’t have to, though. Check out untreated cotton rope at a boating-supply outlet and make your own perches. By exercising your creativity, you can save money, have fun, and do right by your bird! One kind of rope perch rates our complete endorsement: the stiff rope coil. These perches combine the best elements of rope, a swing, and a bungee cord, all of which provide exercise for your bird. Plus, they’re absolutely fantastic for overweight birds!
Mineral: Most pet parrots should have one mineral perch, also called a concrete, cement, or grooming perch. The rough texture feels good underfoot, and the surface is great for helping to keep nails blunt and beaks clean and well groomed (birds like to wipe their beaks against the rough surface). Make sure the size of perch you select is large enough to allow normal weight-bearing and provide some abrasion of the nail tips at the same time. A concrete perch that’s too small won’t necessarily help blunt nails, unless it meets the tips of those nails. Some birds with particularly strong wills and jaws may decide to chew up, destroy, and eat the concrete, though, and those characters shouldn’t have this particular perch. Keep your eyes open for birds who chew up, fragment, and swallow this material, though. If you see such behavior, get rid of that type of perch!
Plastics: Two kinds of plastic perches are available — acrylic and PVC. Both are popular because of their sturdiness and relative ease of cleaning. We’re not real keen on either kind, although, of the two, acrylic is a better choice because it’s virtually indestructible. Having a perch to chew up is important to most parrots. If you use plastics, add other chewable perch options to your bird’s environment. PVC too often and too easily ends up in pieces in a bird’s stomach and can cause some medical problems, as well as slippery footing and boredom. Plastic perches may be too slippery to be comfortable (particularly for heavy-bodied, wing-clipped birds), although some manufacturers compensate for this problem by abrading the surface of the perch. You can do the same with a little sandpaper or an abrasion tool if you want to offer a plastic perch.
For tips on how to place perches in the cage, see Chapter 5.
PERCHES AU NATUREL
If you’re looking for a real bargain in bird equipment, search no further than the perch. No, not that plain pine dowel that came with the cage or that you can find by the scores at any pet-supply store. Some of the best perches around are free and easy to find. They grow on trees, you could say.
Tree branches make great perches. They add variety to your bird’s environment, help him maintain healthy feet and legs, and give him something else to rip up for entertainment. Most fruit and nut trees (almond, apple, prune, and all citrus) are fine to use, as are ash, elm, dogwood, and magnolia. If you can get your pruners on some manzanita, go for it — it’s a hard wood that can stand up to a lot of abuse. Try grapevines, too. And leave the bark on for your bird to peel off.
Cut branches to a length to fit in your cage, scrub and clean them well with detergent, rinse them, and let them dry in the sun. Check for insect egg pods, and if you find them, just break them off and throw them out before putting the branch in your pet’s cage. (If you don’t, you may find a zillion little bugs thinking it’s springtime in your home.)
You can entertain bigger parrots with scrap lumber. Just be sure you know the source of the wood. You don’t want to offer your bird pressure-treated lumber or wood that may be coated with preservatives or other potential toxins.
Think of perches as replaceable cage furnishings: When your bird rips them up, that’s great — it means he likes them! Replace them with more of the same when he destroys them. The extra labor and cost involved in replacing those perches is well worth the knowledge that, in your bird’s eyes, you’re doing a great job.
Diving into Dishes and Waterers
Your cage probably came with bowls for food and water, and these containers are likely to be perfectly fine for your bird’s dining pleasure. Look for bowls constructed of stainless steel, crockery, or high-impact plastic. They should be dishwasher-safe, because you’re going to be running them through the hot cycle — a lot.
Dishes seem to inspire a lot of creativity on the part of manufacturers, who do their best to come up with designs to minimize mess, stand up to the abuse some parrots can dish out, and retain an attractive appearance and washability. Experiment with dishes all you like until you find the combination that works best for you and your bird.
The workhorse of the cage is always going to be the plain dish, and we encourage you to keep a few of these on hand so your bird isn’t without food and water when you’re cleaning dirty ones. With larger parrots, make sure the dishes are not easily upended, picked up, thrown, or broken. Although bowl tossing may be a lot of fun from a bird’s point of view, damaged crocks can be frustrating and costly.
Birds can drink water from a dish or from a water bottle the way guinea pigs and rabbits do. If you choose to use a water bottle, make sure your bird knows how to use it, and check the spout frequently with a touch of your finger to ensure that water is still flowing. Dehydration from water deprivation can rapidly deal a lethal blow to birds.